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Legal history: England & common law tradition: 1660 - 1714

Later Stuart England

In October 1707 the Parliament of the United Kingdom held its first session, in the home of the former English Parliament in Westminster.

Law Reports

The English Reports (ER) (available in print and online, see links below) reprinted those considered still valuable when the Victorians reformed the system with the (Incorporated) Council of Law Reporting. The Revised Reports is a rival reprint, which sometimes has preserved cases not available in the ERs.

For online access to the ERs holders of an Oxford SSO have their choice of LexisLibrary, Westlaw Edge UK and HeinOnline. If looking for other contemporary reports it would be best to start with HeinOnline which also has the Revised Reports, and many other published report series.

Manuscript sources have been edited and printed as Lord Nottingham's Chancery Case SS 73 & 79

Abridgments

Comyn's Digest (1760) pre 1740 case law

Bacons' New abridgment (1763-66)

Viner General Abridgment of Law and Equity (1741-1753) 23 volume

The Bodleian has copies of various editions of all of the above - but for conservation reasons would ask readers to consult the online versions (see links below) in the first instance.

Regnal years

Charles II  May 1660*  -  6 Feb1685
*1660 is styled 12 Cha 2  as if he had ruled since his father's execution)

James II  6 Feb 1685 - 11 Dec 1688

Mary II & William III 13 Feb 1689 - 28 Dec 1694

William III 28 Dec 1694 - 8 Mar 1702

Anne 8 Mar 1702 - 1 Aug 1714